Update: This post was written in 2016 and there have been many policy changes regarding what each of the charities described below will accept. Please read the comments thoroughly for more information.
While organizing my master closet a few weeks ago, I dusted off the massive box containing my wedding dress. This box has occupied that corner of the closet since we moved in almost 11 years ago.
Even though I typically have no problem with letting go of things that are no longer serving a purpose in my life, I’ve never been able to entertain the thought of getting rid of the dress.
I know that many of you feel the same way about yours.
After all, could there be any other object that you own that conjures up more happy memories?
Has there ever been an item of clothing that has made you feel this fabulous when you wore it?
And for that matter, have you ever paid more money for any single item of clothing?
The wedding dress is the quintessential example of sentimental clutter. The strong emotion/memories I’ve associated with it, coupled with the steep price tag has led me to hold onto my dress for 16 years (to the day, since today’s my anniversary!).
Not anymore. I’m ready to let it go.
Let’s face it…it’s not being honored by sitting in a remote corner of my closet collecting dust. I’ll never wear it again. The reality is that my daughter will not want to wear Mom’s 35-year old dress when she walks down the aisle.
There is a way I can honor the dress.
I can donate it to a bride-to-be in need who can experience the same joy that I felt when I wore it all those years ago. Once I made this mindset-shift, then all that was left to do was to choose a charity and ship the dress.
Where to Donate Your Wedding Dress
Many popular local donation sites such as Goodwill and Salvation Army will accept wedding dress donations. Although I’m a huge fan of both of these organizations, it was really important to me that I know specifically who my donated dress would be helping (not the actual person of course, but the specific type of bride).
Having this information makes it easier for me to imagine the dress bringing joy to its new owner, which makes it much easier for me to part with it.
If you do a simple internet search for “donate your wedding dress”, you’ll find some great resources out there, including preownedweddingdresses.com and donatemyweddingdress.org, that provide a comprehensive directory of wedding dress donation options.
Here are a few of the ones I checked out:
- Brides Across America – This awesome charity helps US military brides by giving them free wedding dresses.
- Wish Upon A Wedding – Donate your dress to Wish Upon a Wedding and help couples facing terminal illness celebrate their dream wedding or vow renewal. Good stuff.
- Fairytale Brides on a Shoestring – Donations to this nonprofit bridal boutique provide reduced price bridal gowns and accessories for underprivileged women in the D.C. area. Fairytale Brides on a Shoestring also provides opportunities for local high school students to learn about the fashion industry and gain retail work experience.
- Angel Gowns – I bet you would have never guessed that your donated wedding dress can help a parent who has suffered the tragic loss of a newborn baby. There are programs all around the country (like the Emma and Evan Foundation) that will take donated wedding dresses and transform them into beautiful burial “angel gowns”. Conduct a Google search to see all the options for transforming your dress into an angel gown.
Where I Chose To Donate My Wedding Dress
UPDATE – DECEMBER 2017: I just learned from a reader that Cherie Amour has changed its policy and no longer accepts wedding gowns older than 10 years old.
I would have been thrilled to send my dress to any of these charities, but many of them have strict guidelines about the dresses they will accept. In most cases, my dress was considered too old (many of the charities only accept dresses that are less than 5 years old).
Lucky for me, I came across Success in Style, a charitable organization based in Maryland whose mission is to help women and men in crisis become self-sufficient by gaining employment. SIS provides free business attire, fashion advice, and interview counseling to its’ service recipients.
Cherie Amour (its “sister” organization) sells donated wedding dresses to fund Success in Style.
Unlike many of the other charities, Cherie Amour does not require you to clean your dress prior to shipping it. Believe me when I say this is a huge plus, since I probably spent more on cleaning and preserving my dress than many brides spend on their actual dress!
Although I think of my gown style as timeless, the fact that it’s 16 years old makes it outdated (and therefore unacceptable for donation) in the eyes of most charities.
Cherie Amour is the only charity I found that accepts outdated gowns. They have volunteer designers/seamstresses that will banish those puffy sleeves from your 1995 gown and transform the dress into a contemporary style.
How fitting that I’m headed out today on my wedding anniversary to ship my dress to this awesome charity (and wedding shoes…did I mention they also accept accessories?). Before I head off, I snapped a few photos for posterity:
Are you on the fence about letting go of that wedding dress? Have you already pass it on, or will you keep it forever? If you’re in the know about other options for donating your dress, please share!
Looking for more ways to get rid of unwanted clutter?
Turn Your Clutter Into Cash
Pin It for Later
- Printables for Organizing Home & Life: The ULTIMATE Organizing Printables Vault! - November 28, 2023
- Clipboard Wall Organization for Papers: Easy DIY Paper Storage! - September 4, 2023
- How to Plan a Graduation Party to Remember: The Ultimate Graduation Party Planner - May 9, 2023
Maddy says
Unfortunately, Cheri Amour now only accepts dresses 5 years and younger. Struggling on where to donate my dress that is 7 years old!
Natalie Gallagher says
Check with your local community theater. They can oftentimes use dresses for production costumes
Stephen Ryan says
There are 3 places you can donate your wedding dress to the military, that include: United Service Organizations (USO), Brides Across America (BAA), and Operation Deploy Your Dress.
Stephen Ryan says
Your article really interesting and worthwhile, I learned a lot from it. Thanks for sharing!
Natalie Gallagher says
Thank you so much for making us aware of these other great options for donating!
Julie Hannah says
All of the Angel Gowns organizations had waiting lists that they have now closed because they have more gowns than they can handle. None of the donation sites will take a gown over five years old, and some won’t consider over three years old. It seems to me that this fabric could be re-used for clothing, upholstery, or SOMETHING to keep it from going into a landfill, where most wedding gowns seem to end up these days.
Natalie Gallagher says
Certainly sounds like things have changed since I wrote the post. Be sure to read the comments for how others have recycled/upcycled their dresses.
Anita First says
Your article says that Cherie Amour will take a wedding gown no matter its age. I was excited to find that out. However, when I went to their site, it definitely says that the gown must be 5 years or younger. Perhaps they have changed their policy. I don’t know when your article was written, but I went there today – April 8, 2022 – and my gown is beyond their age requirement. Do you have any other suggestion? I would be most grateful. The gown was expensive and is stunning – satin and pearls. I just don’t want it to go to a Goodwill or other store like that. I want a real bride to get it for free and enjoy it! Thanks for any guidance. BTW, I live in Los Angeles, but I am willing to pay to mail the gown wherever it would find its way to a needy bride.
Natalie Gallagher says
Anita – this blog post is several years old so it appears that Cherie Amour has changed their policy unfortunately. I would suggest investigating some local options for donating. Perhaps you can post it on your local Facebook Buy Nothing Group or Craigslist (indicating that it’s a free item).
Aditi Mohan says
While people are having charity registry or donations to do a good cause, donating your wedding dress is takes another level of spirit of giving. It really takes lot of heart to do this and I guess it is going to be more inspiring for more people to give.
Millie says
Where can I donate my wedding gown from 1973? It’s a classic ‘70s gown.
Natalie Gallagher says
I would try local theater companies
Anne. says
Where can I donate my preserved 1988 wedding gown?
Mybtysun says
this is great information . thank’s for sharing
P Tremblay says
I donated my wedding dress from 1984 to a local high school theater group, as well. If they are a public (government funded) school, the donation is most likely tax deductible. I donated my daughter’s wedding dress from 2014 to evefoundation.org and my daughter was so pleased we found a meaningful use for it rather than attempt to sell it.
Natalie Gallagher says
Thanks for sharing more ideas for donating dresses. I LOVE that idea!
Terry says
Please look at other “Angel Gown” charities, there are several that do not have a strict 5 year rule. One in California shows gowns made from wedding dresses from the ‘70s. Another in Augusta Georgia, outside of Chicago….. Your dress is beautiful and I would have been honored to sew up angel gowns from it.
Constance says
Can you list some sites, I have a friend wanting to donate near Jackson, TN
kira Yosuf says
Your dresss is really pretty .thanks for sharing
Kathy Redpath says
As of the date I checked (2/26/19) Cherie Armour no longer takes gowns older than 10 yrs. They do specify a site called Rest In His Arms that does. I will check that out!!
Natalie Gallagher says
Kathy, Thanks so much for the updated information. I’ll be sure to go in and update this post!
Karen Abate says
Small Things Angel Baby Gowns is still accepting donated bridal gowns. https://www.facebook.com/smallthingsangelbabygowns/ https://angelbabygowns.wixsite.com/smallthings
Natalie Gallagher says
Thanks Karen for the update!
Hazel Owens says
That’s awesome that you can donate your wedding dress to a cause that can help those who are underprivileged or even US military brides. I was going through my cedar chest and found my wedding dress, so now I want to give it to someone else to use since it’s just sitting in there not being used. I’ll have to look at different charities that I can donate to and choose one that I feel will give my dress to someone who wouldn’t normally be able to afford it and will enjoy it.
Patsy D. Higginbotham says
nice dress and you dress so pretty too. Thanks for sharing
Patsy D. Higginbotham says
Nice,
They were happy to add it to the costume closet to use in the future. All it took was a phone call to the school to confirm.Several months have passed since I donated my dress, so my brain may be fuzzy on this BUT, I don’t recall having to complete a form when I sent mine off to Cherie Armour.They were excited to have it!
Natalie Gallagher says
That’s great Patsy. This post is several years old, so their protocol for accepting donations might have changed.
Lynda Schneider says
Such great info. I too am looking to donate my wedding dress from 1985. I will check with Cherie Amour as I live in Maryland. Thanks again for this post.
Mercusys says
Wow! This is great information to have! Your dress is so pretty too. I donated a wedding dress that I never wore – long story – to our local high school’s theater department. They were happy to add it to the costume closet to use in the future. All it took was a phone call to the school to confirm. They were excited to have it!Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday
Jeffrey Parks says
It’s really a fantastic blog about donating wedding dress. I also want to donate my wedding dress. Many many thanks for sharing with us.
NikonNIK says
This is great information to have! Your dress is so pretty too. Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday.Nn
Noah says
WOW this Article was really helpful i am looking for this kind of article. many many thanks for sharing
Sue McGovern says
I would like to know if there is a donation form that needs to be filled out if I want to donate my wedding dress from 1973. It is beautiful and I would like to be able to have someone use this dress as well.
Natalie Gallagher says
Several months have passed since I donated my dress, so my brain may be fuzzy on this BUT, I don’t recall having to complete a form when I sent mine off to Cherie Armour. I did include a note in the package with my name and contact information, as well as a request to have a donation receipt sent to me. You can always contact them directly with any other specific questions too. Thanks for your comment!
Jeannine B. says
I donated a wedding dress that I never wore – long story – to our local high school’s theater department. They were happy to add it to the costume closet to use in the future. All it took was a phone call to the school to confirm. They were excited to have it!
Natalie Gallagher says
What a great idea Jeannine! When I have a moment, I’ll revise the post and add this in as an option for people to explore in their community!
Shirley Wood says
This is great information to have! Your dress is so pretty too. Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday.
Natalie Gallagher says
Why thanks Shirley!